I love what Jagdish P Dave said, 'theory and practice are two wings of the bird of living." I agree we need both and that one is thought and one is action; we need them to move forward in understanding. However I would also point out there is a potential pitfall for many to become so attached to theory the action never comes or an action comes but without truly understanding human impact. I have witnessed this is my work at the World Bank where economists become so enraptured with their data and what they think the theory is that they do not always listen to the humans their work impacts to understand in *practice* what the outcome may be of their *theory* on paper. I hope this makes sense. In my own volunteer work in Belize, I leaped in without having all the theory behind what I was doing in training teachers to use their own cultural legends in their classrooms, this not knowing all the theory was a blessing in disguise as I was unaware that in theory it should not have worked as it did. So, there can be blessings too. I do believe we need both and not to become bogged down in either one. As always, balance is key. I hope this made sense. <3
On Jan 17, 2017 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :
I love what Jagdish P Dave said, 'theory and practice are two wings of the bird of living." I agree we need both and that one is thought and one is action; we need them to move forward in understanding. However I would also point out there is a potential pitfall for many to become so attached to theory the action never comes or an action comes but without truly understanding human impact. I have witnessed this is my work at the World Bank where economists become so enraptured with their data and what they think the theory is that they do not always listen to the humans their work impacts to understand in *practice* what the outcome may be of their *theory* on paper. I hope this makes sense. In my own volunteer work in Belize, I leaped in without having all the theory behind what I was doing in training teachers to use their own cultural legends in their classrooms, this not knowing all the theory was a blessing in disguise as I was unaware that in theory it should not have worked as it did. So, there can be blessings too. I do believe we need both and not to become bogged down in either one. As always, balance is key. I hope this made sense. <3